This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

U.S.-backed Syrian fighters advancing on Daesh from east, west linkup in Raqqa

Officials say it’s the first time the fighters linked up since launching their offensive on Daesh’s de facto capital.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, under the cover of U.S.-backed coalition airstrikes, launched a wide offensive to capture the city on June 6 and have managed so far to take about half the city. (Furat FM)

By Bassem MroueThe Associated Press

Fri., Aug. 11, 2017

BEIRUT—U.S.-backed Syrian fighters advancing on Daesh from the eastern and western parts of the northern city of Raqqa have linked up for the first time since launching their offensive on Daesh’s de facto capital, officials said Friday.

Though the development marked a significant milestone in the battle for the Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, stronghold, a U.S. military spokesman cautioned that there is still tough fighting ahead before Raqqa is completely taken from the militants.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, under the cover of U.S.-backed coalition airstrikes, launched a wide offensive to capture the city on June 6 and have managed so far to take about half the city.

The linkup of the eastern and western fronts deprives Daesh from access to the Euphrates River — and effectively leaves the remaining militants in Raqqa and thousands of civilians surrounded.

U.S. Army Col. Ryan Dillon said there remains still tough fighting ahead and that although the linkup of the Syrian opposition fighters’ east and west axis on the southern edge of Raqqa was significant, this does not in fact cut the city in two.

Article Continued Below

Dillon told The Associated Press in an email that the significance is that the SDF, despite Daesh’s best efforts, have successfully battled across the entire city from both sides and have joined forces. The U.S. spokesman said this shows the steady progress the SDF fighters are making against Daesh in the militants’ self-declared capital.

“The fighting is ongoing from room to room and from house to house,” said Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media centre. Bali also confirmed that SDF fighters pushing from opposite sides of the city have met up.

Bali said by telephone from northern Syria that the key difficulty facing advancing SDF fighters is to avoid striking civilians used by Daesh as human shields.

The top U.S. envoy for the international coalition against Daesh , Brett McGurk, tweeted about the linkup of the two fronts, describing it as a “milestone” that is tightening the noose around Daesh.

Also Friday, neighbouring Turkey introduced new regulations at a border crossing with northwestern Syria, allowing only the transport of humanitarian aid, after an al-Qaida-linked group took control of the Syrian post.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after Friday prayers in Istanbul that the Cilvegozu crossing in southern Turkey would remain open for food, medicine and some supplies to go across. Turkey’s Cilvegozu stands across from the Bab al-Hawa in Syria’s Idlib province.

The al-Qaida-linked militant group Levant Liberation Committee captured the crossing after battles with the ultraconservative Syrian rebel Ahrar al-Sham group last month.

Erdogan said Turkey “cannot allow the passage of weapons,” suggesting humanitarian aid has “practically turned into an armament process.”

Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported a three-kilometre tailback at the Oncupinar border crossing, located further east, after trucks were rerouted from Cilvegozu.

Meanwhile, the UN migration agency said Friday that over 600,000 displaced Syrians have returned to their homes this year, citing an increasing trend of returns while warning the situation remains “not sustainable.”

International Organization for Migration spokeswoman Olivia Headon said the 602,759 returns between January and July was on track to surpass the figure of 685,000 returns for all of 2016.

But she also cautioned about the huge number of displaced Syrians this year — nearly 809,000.

IOM said that its partner agencies have found that two-thirds of the returnees have gone to the northern Aleppo governorate, where government forces ousted rebels from the city of Aleppo last year.

A third of the returnees said they went back to “protect their assets” while one-quarter cited “improved economic conditions,” IOM said.

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com